The Right YouTube Nonprofit Strategy That Will Make You Grow

Connecting with your nonprofit’s audience is like being a good friend. Using video is a powerful tool, especially for nonprofits. We’ll introduce you to the YouTube nonprofit program and provide easy to implement ideas to incorporate video in your outreach program.

You’ve got to devote time to friends to maintain a close relationship, and as a nonprofit you’ve got to devote time to your audience.

With limited time and resources, content curation is an essential marketing tool for keeping the connection with your nonprofit audience fresh and current. But every organization curates content differently. Many share content only on social media while others use content curation in all facets of their Youtube nonprofit marketing plan.

Today, we will be discussing best practices for curating content for Nonprofits using the social media platform YouTube:

Why YouTube

Youtube Nonprofit Success Stories

How to Curate YouTube videos for Nonprofits

Curation Ideas

Donation Cards on YouTube

Perfect YouTube Post – an example

Share Videos Across Social Media Using Smart Automation

Why use the YouTube Nonprofit Program

As a non-profit, your definition of success might be different than say, Justin Bieber’s, but you can use video in a similar manner to engage and educate people across the world.

A few things to think about (from the Playbook for Good, a valuable resource for nonprofits looking to benefit from and make the most out of YouTube):

→For many causes, videos may not be part of your current marketing plan, but they are quickly becoming an ideal format for your storytelling. Embrace the medium and start communicating!

With over 800 million people worldwide on YouTube, it’s a global living room like no other. YouTube is also the world’s 2nd largest search engine (after Google) – people are looking for you and your cause every day. What will you show them?

→Do not worry about being “viral,” just focus on creating great content and interacting with the community.

→Do not just “make videos.” Have a video strategy. Interacting with your viewers and having a clear call to action are as important as capturing good footage. Try to address these questions before you pick up the camera.

YouTube Nonprofit Success Stories

Success #1:

The American Foundation for Equal Rights used the YouTube nonprofit channel to live-stream “8″, a play about the Prop 8 trial in California on marriage equality. The initiative raised more than $2 million dollars and drove a news cycle of approximately 300 articles.

The donate button remains there today, subtly encouraging viewers to lend their financial support after watching one of the dozens of videos available.

Success#2:

charity: water posted over 240 personalized thank-you videos for their donors and campaigners, effectively making the audience the stars of the videos and creating a life cycle of donors that were publicly acknowledged and highlighted.

Taking time to celebrate milestones and recognize supporters should be an essential element of a nonprofit’s social strategy.

The organization also uses call-to-action overlays on videos to encourage viewers to support the cause through donations.

5 – Add relevant videos to playlists. Curating videos into playlists is a good way to add value for your audience and build credibility as an expert in your field.

Donation Cards on YouTube

The donation card on YouTube makes it simple for nonprofits to raise money using YouTube videos. They’re a simple add-on to your YouTube videos that allow people who are watching, to donate to an organization directly from a video. Google covers the processing fees, so the organization receives 100% of the money given.

Smart Automation

To amplify your message, it’s not only important to ‘broadcast yourself’ on YouTube, but also to use every outlet available to reach potential supporters. Leverage networks outside of YouTube to promote your videos.

Sharing videos from YouTube to social media is easy using dlvr.it’s smart automation. All you need is an RSS feed and a little creativity.

Believe me. Automation is easy. By following the steps in the how-to guide below, videos can come to life in your social feed – no clicking away needed to play the video. It creates a better experience for your audience and leads to increased engagement.

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About Debra Garber

VP of Finance & Operations, Chief Content Contributor, and backyard chicken farmer. I happily share my experiences traversing the wilds of social media. Will trade social media tips for fresh organic eggs. Motto: "Live the life you love, love the life you live."